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The Day of the Enthronement of His Holiness and Beatitude Iliya II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, on 25 December 2009, began in Tbilisi with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Trinity Cathedral, with a multitude of people congregated. Among the participants were Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchate Exarch for All Belarus, and members of the Russian Orthodox Church’s delegation.

After the service Metropolitan Filaret read out a congratulatory message from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and a congratulatory letter from the Holy Synod of the Byelorussian Exarchate. He also awarded Patriarch Iliya the highest decoration of the Byelorussian Orthodox Church – the Order of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk and presented him with an Icon of Our Lady of Iveron.

The Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church expressed profound gratitude to Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Filaret and recalled the distant years when he attended the Moscow Theological Academy.

Later that day a grand diner took place during which a congratulatory letter from Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, was read out.

In the evening the Russian delegation attended the concert given in the Grand Hall of the Tbilisi Conservatoire in honour of Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya.

DECR Communications Service